Live Your Goals
by ItsMyIceCream428
Summary: FIFA Women's World Cup; Canada 2015. It was finally here. Watch as 24 of the world's best teams in women's soccer compete for one of the most prestigious awards in the sport - and how our favourite nations react. T for some cursing.
1. Canada v China PR

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.**

 **(Heads up, I will be most likely referring to characters by human names, with most exceptions in dialogue.)**

* * *

 ** _June 6th, 2015 - Day 1 of the FIFA Women's World Cup: Canada 2015_**

 _Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, 4PM local time._

He wasn't nervous.

Nope, not at all. His country was about to host one of the biggest single-sport tournaments in the world.

Twenty-four teams from across the globe, all vying for one title - from the powerhouses Germany, the US (as much as he hated to acknowledge it) and France, to debutantes Côte D'Ivoire, Costa Rica and Switzerland.

A month of soccer - or football, if you please - matches in six cities. Who knew how many people would watch, whether it be from the stadiums, their homes, or at a bar?

Okay, so _maybe_ he was nervous. But this was his first time hosting a _senior_ FIFA tournament! He had every right to be nervous!

Matthew pressed his hands to his face and groaned. He was overthinking this, wasn't he? No one was really looking at how the event was hosted, just how the teams played... right?

Someone snapped their fingers in front of his face, distracting him. Matthew looked up, to see that Yao was holding his hand in front of his face. Matthew could tell that the other nation was bored.

"Would you pay attention? The game's starting soon," said Yao bluntly.

"Oh, right, sorry. Just distracted." Matthew sighed. "I mean... I think we have a chance this year, you know? So many people are going to be watching - I mean, women's soccer is something a lot of people care about here. I bet we'll get pretty far!" By the end, he was grinning. He turned back to watch the game.

Yao scoffed. "I'll bet you said the same thing last year; how did _that_ go for you?"

Matthew bristled, but turned to Yao with a smile. "How would you know, China? I don't recall seeing you there."

Yao huffed and turned away, muttering about 'disrespectful younger nations who should listen to their elders'. Matthew smirked. _Canada 1, China 0._

"We used to be a powerhouse in this sport," Yao said haughtily. "Who says we can't be one again?"

Matthew was about to open his mouth just as an announcement blared through the speakers.

 _"Ladies and gentlemen, please rise for the national anthem of China PR! Mesdames et messieurs, s'il vous plaît, levez-vous pour l'hymne nationale de la Republique Populaire de Chine!"_

Everyone scrambled to their feet. Matthew stared at the ground as the anthem started, but he could feel Yao's glare. He was slightly regretting his words from earlier. _That was a bit harsh, eh?_

Only slightly, though.

With a final note, the anthem ended and was replaced by applause from the Chinese team's supporters.

 _"And now, the national anthem of Canada!"_ This was met with loud cheers and screams from the stands. _"Et maintenant, l'hymne nationale du Canada!"_

Matthew inhaled and quietly sang along. This was really happening, wasn't it? One of the most popular sports teams in the country was about to open the FIFA Women's World Cup. He would be deluding himself if he said that there was very little pressure. They were a good team!

But it all went wrong four years ago, didn't it?

This year didn't have to go that way, though. This year, Canada would do damned amazing. He knew it!

* * *

The whistle blew, and the game began, with the hosts in red and their opponents in white. Canada had started with the ball, which made its way back to the Canadian goal. Canada's goalkeeper, Katrina Richards, made her way up to the edge of the box, moving the ball with her. One of the Chinese players sprinted towards her, but the ball was kicked deep into China's half. Soon enough, the ball was kicked back to Canada's side - however, one of the defenders got on it first, and it ended up back in Richards' possession, who booted it back to China's side.

Yao sighed and rolled his eyes. "Seriously? Nothing's happening right now. I don't get why we're supposed to even be here."

Matthew spared him a glance, incredulous. "It hasn't even been forty seconds! Did you expect to be leading three-nil or something?"

Yao glared at him. "That's ridiculous. Who do you think I am, America?"

Matthew snorted, but returned to a neutral expression as he focused on the game. The ball had ended up back on the Canadian half, but had rolled out of bounds - a throw-in for Canada.

"So, um, what are you thinking about the Netherlands and New Zealand? They seem to be fairly strong opponents, eh?" Matthew asked, trying to make conversation.

Yao pursed his lips. "I guess I would agree, but I've never seen the Dutch team play before. I heard that they're very strong physically, though. I'm a little worried for that game."

"You're more interested than you let on," Matthew teased. "I'm sure it'll be fine, though. The group is fairly matched, isn't it?" He wasn't wrong, with his team in 8th and China in 16th - New Zealand and the Netherlands were 17th and 12th, respectively.

Yao chuckled. "Ha, that's true. No one's really going to be crushed in our group." Matthew hummed in agreement. The whistle blew, and the two of them, startled, turned back to the field. China's captain, Chen Mei, had been called on a handball, and Canada had been awarded a free kick. The players hurried to the edge of the box, with a few of Canada's defenders lined up across the field, along where the free kick was being taken. The whistle blew again, and the ball was kicked into the box. It soared over most of the players, and landed at Kaitlyn Robinson's feet. She took a shot, but it hit the goalkeeper, Wu Liao. Robinson gave it another try, only for it to collide with China's goalkeeper once again, and be kicked away by China's defence. A Canadian defender passed it up, but the player who received the pass was ruled offside.

Matthew groaned, and Yao let out a sigh of relief. "That was close! I hate to say it, but the girl who just tried to score? She's quite a good defender."

Matthew smiled. "Robinson? Yeah, people are saying she's our next star in women's soccer." He shrugged. "Lots of people are going to pay attention to her." Yao hummed in acknowledgement, and the conversation died down. A few minutes later, a free kick was given to China. The whistle blew, and the kick was taken.

It was a stunning one. It was also one that didn't quite make it into the net. It hit the left side of the crossbar - where Richards had dived - and promptly flew into the right post and shot towards the outfield players, where Canada's Andrea Castell quickly kicked it away.

Yao swore, and Matthew let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. "Wow, that was close! Can't believe that it didn't go in!"

"Yeah," Yao said through gritted teeth. "Surprising."

Seeing the older nation's anger, Matthew decided that it would be best to remain quiet. The two of them sat in awkward silence - between the two of them, that is, everyone else was cheering and screaming - until Canada's Jessica Lyon struck from more than 20 yards away from the net. The ball hit the crossbar, just out of Wu's reach.

Matthew groaned. Despite the fact that the Canadian side was dominating in possession - according to the large television screen several meters above the field; _CAN 63% CHN 37% -_ they still hadn't scored. They tried, but they were always slightly off. No one wanted a draw for the first game of the tournament - especially if you were the hosts, and it was the opening game.

"This is great," Matthew muttered.

"You could say that again," Yao agreed. The shrill blast of the whistle cut through the air - the first half had come to an end. Both nations sighed, hoping that the next 45 minutes would bring them a win.

* * *

Roughly 85 minutes into the game, Canada got another chance - but it hadn't been struck too hard. China's goalkeeper dived to save it, clutching the ball as if her life depended on it. Matthew and Yao were starting to get frustrated, and the tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife.

Soon enough, the match was in stoppage time, and everyone was on edge. The ball was in the box, on China's side. Headed by Lyon, towards Alexis Sanders, Huang Jia bringing up her arm - _tweeeeeet!_

The stadium burst into cheers, as Canada had been awarded a penalty in the dying minutes of the game. Huang's arm had been up against Sanders' neck, resulting in the penalty being given to Canada.

"Are you _kidding_ me?!" Yao exclaimed, furious. "That's bullshit! Of course the referee would just hand the hosts a win!"

"What the hell?" Matthew shot back. "Her arm shouldn't have been up there! That's a penalty any day of the week!"

Yao would've snapped at him, but someone tapped him on the arm and told him to be quiet. He rolled his eyes and turned to the field.

Canada's captain, Catherine Smith, had stepped up to the spot - it was just her and Wu Liao. The whistle blew. Smith ran forwards and struck the ball, and Wu dived the right way.

 _But she was just inches away from stopping the ball._

The ball had rolled into the net, through the bottom corner. The fans went wild, Matthew himself screaming and jumping for joy. Yao tangled his fingers in his hair, fuming about the result. Canada had scored their first goal of the tournament, thanks to their captain, Catherine Smith.

There was nothing the Chinese team could do; the game ended thirty seconds later. The hosts had scraped by with the bare minimum, but they had still made it.

"Wow, what a match! Good game, eh?" Matthew said, turning to Yao. Unsurprisingly, he was sulking in his seat.

"Yeah," he said dismissively. "Good game for you."

Matthew laughed nervously and made his way out of the stadium. _Canada 2, China 0!_

 _ **Final Score: CAN 1 CHN 0**_

 _ **Smith 90+2' (PEN)**_

* * *

 **Well, would you look at that! Another blurb that will sit here and rot while I'm preoccupied with my real-life commitments.**

 **For anyone who doesn't get the insults between Canada and China at the start, it's referring to how Canada came last in the 2011 WWC (;-;), but China PR failed to qualify.**

 **Also, I changed the players' names, since part of the site's guidelines say not to have stories with any "non-historical, non-fictional characters". I don't know if this counts, but better be safe than sorry.**

 **PR = People's Republic [of China]**

 **I think y'all can figure out what '** _ **Mesdames et messieurs, s'il vous plaît, levez-vous pour l'hymne nationale de la Republique Populaire de Chine!'**_ **and** _ **'Et maintenant, l'hymne nationale du Canada!'**_ **mean, seeing as the English translations are** _ **right**_ **before them.**

 **I realize the WWC ended a loooong time ago, but I've been itching to get this out.**

 **Your comments are appreciated!**

 **~Mira**


	2. New Zealand v Netherlands

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia, nor am I associated with FIFA in any way.  
**

* * *

 _ **June 6th, 2015**_

 _Commonwealth Stadium, Edmonton, 7PM local time.  
_

The stadium was still buzzing with excitement over the match between the hosts and China. It was close battle, ending with a Canadian victory thanks to a late penalty. Now, people were waiting for the second match of Group A and the tournament, which included New Zealand and the Netherlands. The anthems had finished, and the teams were taking photos. This was the latter team's first ever FIFA Women's World Cup tournament and match. Abel would be lying if he said that he wasn't a bit tense. The men's team was successful at last year's World Cup. However, he didn't know how the women's team would perform at this level.

"Ah! Netherlands! There you are, I got lost trying to find our seats. So sorry about that!" Abel turned his head, to see Jack hurrying over to the vacant seat on his right, apologizing to the other spectators ( _Oh, was that your foot? Sorry about that- oops!_ ).

"Hello, New Zealand," Abel replied. "How are you?"

"I'm great, thanks," Jack replied. "How 'bout you? Ready for the game?"

Abel snorted. "It's not as if I need to be ready to play in the match." Jack sighed and shook his head, albeit with a smile on his face. "I'm quite excited for the match, if that's what you mean," he said with a small smile.

"Same here! It must be a special event for you, huh?" Jack added. "First Women's World Cup, and all that."

Abel hummed in agreement. "I won't lie, we're a high-ranked team, but so are lots of other European teams. There's more competition for a few slots."

Jack smiled and nodded, but mulled over that last sentence. _Is he implying that we only got in because we have no competition in our confederation? Sure, we've been the highest-ranked team in Oceania since Australia left, but really.._

The whistle blew, and the nations turned, realizing that the game was starting.

"Oh!" Jack gasped, taking his seat. "Well, good luck to you!"

 _"Veel geluk,"_ Abel replied, getting comfortable in his seat as the opposing team kicked off the match. The ball was soon halfway into the Dutch team's territory. One of the Football Fern's attempted a pass to a teammate and it fell short, landing at the feet of a Dutch player.

"Did you hear about the last game?" Jack asked, trying to make small talk.

Abel nodded, just as the ball rolled out of bounds for a Dutch goal kick. "Canada won with a last minute penalty, didn't they?"

"Yeah, people are saying that the ref did it since Canada's the host. Doesn't that worry you?"

Abel tore his eyes away from the field. "What do you mean?"

Jack pursed his lips. He focused on Summer Edwards, who was taking a throw-in for New Zealand and looking for her teammates. "What if it's true? We don't know what the refs are thinking, and the rumours could be true. This could affect our teams in the tournament."

Abel scoffed. "You're being ridiculous. That would've been a foul no matter what the time; you can't have your arm up against someone's neck. I think that the Canadian player did play it up, but the ref made a good call. Also, what reason would she have to favour the hosts?"

Jack shrugged. "I guess you're right. Maybe that's why they pick refs from different countries, huh?"

Abel hummed in agreement, but turned away and rolled his eyes. _No, really?_

Jack spared Abel a glance, but turned back just as Nicoline Van Daal threw the ball into play. Soon after, it went out of bounds - a throw-in for New Zealand. Soon after, a Dutch defender kicked it out, but for a goal kick.

"So, who else from Europe made it?" Jack asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

Abel crossed his arms, thinking. "Germany, France, England, Sweden, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland," he recited from memory. "They were the group winners from qualifying."

Jack frowned. "If they won the groups, then how did you qualify?"

"Playoffs," Abel replied. "The four best runner-ups had to play home and away matches to decide who got the last spot. That was me, Italy, Scotland, and Ukraine. Obviously, I won."

Jack nodded. "I see," he said. "Well, congratulations!" he said, with a smile on his face.

Abel turned to him and raised an eyebrow. Jack gulped and turned back to the game. _Gosh, he really is intimidating..._

Both nations looked on as New Zealand's Rose Donovan took a shot in the box. Luck wasn't on her side, though - it hit Marianne Van Amstel square in the face.

"Wow, that's got to hurt!" Jack laughed, trying to hide his disappointment. Abel didn't reply, making the situation even more awkward. In Jack's opinion, that is. As excited as he was to be watching the game live, Abel's frigidity was bothering him. He slumped in his seat, hoping to watch the game in silence. Thankfully, that didn't seem like a challenge.

The crowd started to cheer louder, and Jack searched for the ball. Sure enough, a player in all orange was running up the field, New Zealand's defense hurrying to deal with her. She passed the ball back to another player, who passed it to Katja Van De Laar. Van De Laar ran back for the ball, and took a few steps forward. With two defenders in front of her, she opted to take a shot from outside the box. The ball sailed to the right side of the goal - right out of the reach of New Zealand's goalkeeper, Scarlett Fraser. The ball flew into the back of the net, eliciting cheers from the Dutch players and supporters.

Jack's jaw dropped. " _What?!"_ he exclaimed, shocked. He turned to Abel, who had the faintest of smiles on his face. Groaning, he sunk into his seat, head in his hands. "How could this have happened?"

"Your players gave her too much space on the wing," Abel stated. "Should've put a defender there."

"I wasn't asking for your opinion!" Jack huffed. "Besides, do I look like the coach?" Abel laughed at this, much to Jack's chagrin. He turned back and watched the game, occasionally glaring at the taller nation. Soon enough, the half came to an end.

Jack sighed. _We still have forty-five minutes. We can recover._

The second half didn't see too much action, much to Jack's exasperation. Abel could read his emotions like a book; Jack would groan whenever New Zealand's shots went off target or got blocked. One example was an amazing save; the goalkeeper hit the ball with her hands and it landed in front of the line. Despite one of New Zealand's strikers rushing towards her, she calmly collected the ball. The two nations watched as New Zealand attempted to score again, but the goalkeeper stopped it with little effort.

Abel could see that Jack was upset. However, he couldn't help but be pleased with the current result. The first Women's World Cup game for this team, and they were doing excellent. Although the group was evenly matched, Abel expected the team to go far.

" _What the hell?!"_ Abel whipped around to see Jack out of his seat, outraged. He was pointing to the Dutch penalty area.

"How is that not a foul?!" he demanded, to no answer. Abel looked at him, confused. Seeing Abel's bewilderment, Jack sputtered, "She just got pushed over! I can't believe that the referee isn't giving them a penalty kick! God, I can't believe this refereeing."

Abel just nodded, but he was somewhat thankful. _Not that bad refereeing is a good thing, but it sure saved us..._

Despite their efforts, New Zealand couldn't get the equalizer needed to gain a point. The Dutch walked away with all three points from their first World Cup game, with much credit going to Van De Laar. Abel rose from his seat and stuck out his hand. "Good game, New Zealand. Better luck against Canada."

Jack nodded and shook Abel's hand, disappointment clear on his face. "Same to you against China." With that, he made his way to exit the stadium.

* * *

 _ **Final Score: NZL 0 NED 1**_

 _ **Van De Laar 33'**_

* * *

"Hey, Mattie!" Matthew turned around just as Alfred crashed into him, arm going around his shoulder. "Congrats on the win! Nice to see that you kicked China's ass!"

Matthew smiled. "Hey, thanks. By the way, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Winnipeg?"

Alfred shrugged. "The game's not for another two days! I was planning on leaving tomorrow just so I could watch the game! Your team's looking great!" At this point, Alfred's smile had become a sly smirk. "Reminds me of three years ago..."

"Oh my God, shut up," Matthew muttered, starting to walk away.

"Oh, c'mon, I was just joking! Besides, you got a medal, so what's it to you?"

Matthew was about to snap back, but the sudden sound of an argument cut him off.

"You damned frog! As if the rankings actually mean anything, we're going to win that game! You hear me?!"

"Oh, shut up! You can try to delude yourself, _Angleterre,_ but we're going to win that game!"

Alfred and Matthew laughed. They would know those voices anywhere.

"Say, want to get a drink?" Matthew suggested.

"Sure! Let's go," Alfred replied. The two walked down the street, ready to face the next day.

* * *

 _ **Veel geluk -**_ **Good luck (Dutch)** _ **  
**_

 _ **Angleterre -**_ **England (French)**

* * *

 **The Australian national football teams moved from the Oceania Football Confederation (OFC) to the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) in 2006, leaving New Zealand as the highest-ranked team in women's football in the OFC by a long shot. In the region, Papua New Guinea and Fiji are second and third, but pale in comparison on the international stage - at 49th and 85th, respectively, compared to New Zealand in 16th.  
**

 **The New Zealand women's football team is nicknamed the "Football Ferns".**

 **That little thing between Matthew and Alfred refers to the Olympics. Some controversial calls were made against Canada in the semis, and they believed that those helped the US win. I watched the game before it was taken down on the official channel - that ref wasn't very good all around, tbh.**

 **Whoa, I updated?! Thank god I completed most of my homework early.**

 **Okay, we may have a problem. FIFA removed the matchcasts from their app, and I can only find 21 of the 52 games in full. The majority of the missing games are prior to the quarterfinals. I'll have to depend on the match highlights compiled by FIFA, but they're awfully short - less than 3 minutes. I'll have to do my best, sorry! :/**

 **Anyhow, the next games are Germany/Ivory Coast and Norway/Thailand, the latter of which I can't find in full. We'll see how it goes!**

 **Your comments are appreciated!  
~Mira**


End file.
